Sustainable Products: How Do You Know?

We’re sure that you’ve heard about greenwashing. It’s a cool thing to talk about sustainability, but what about walking the walk? 

It is so hard to really know what is and what is not sustainable, so sometimes we just have to make our own rules and policies based on our values and research. Below are the decisions we have made and followed in terms of selecting products for our client homes to ensure that we feel good about our choices. We are always learning and say to take it with a grain of salt, because these policies may change!

Petroleum products are NOT sustainable 

What about “Sustainable” Luxury Vinyl Tile that has been recycled? Sure it’s been recycled, but what does this process entail? Does the recycling process remove the offgassing that will happen in your home after installation? What happens when this material deteriorates and is ready for removal? Can you recycle (and offgas) again, or does it go to the landfill… and for how long?

We’ve decided that regardless of the labels placed on products and certifications claiming to be “green”, we do not feel comfortable with petroleum-based products (plastics, vinyls, and most resins).

Quality

Part of sustainability means that the product will not end up in a landfill after a very short lifespan. Quality products that last a minimum of 30 years is a good place to start! Look at products and materials in terms of repairability and durability.

Shop Local

Local products are a great way to keep your carbon footprint low, avoiding shipping from across the country or even across the world. We always aim to work with west coast manufacturers above those thousands of miles away. However, we still prioritize health and safety so, while some of those Etsy light fixtures might look cute and come from down the street, we still ensure that anything we specify for your home has the proper ratings and certifications (sorry Etsy!). 

Cruelty-free

Yes, that leather sofa may be super durable, but is it sustainable? There absolutely are sustainable leathers, so don’t get us wrong. However, do some digging into those products before grabbing the leather sample off the shelf simply because it looks nice. There may be an ethical price to be paid for that swatch.

Certifications & Declarations 

If we look at a manufacturer’s website and they do not have a sustainability statement or message, this is a red flag for us that sustainability is not their goal. We are very unlikely to work with this product.

Navigating the world of sustainability in design and construction is a minefield. Many manufacturers “greenwash” their materials to represent them as sustainable when they actually aren’t. In fact, some even manufacture their own certifications! However, there are organizations out there helping all of us figure out how to judge a material or product’s sustainability characteristics. Here are a few.

CERTIFICATIONS:

GreenGuard Certified

This means that a product will not off-gas in your home, or meets a reasonable level of VOC off-gassing (now, remember… trees emit VOC’s too!).

While we love Greenguard certification, this is not always enough for us. For example, vinyl window treatments can be Greenguard certified. It’s a step in the right direction, and can be a qualifier, but is not an end-all and does not make a product sustainable.

LEED-certified

This is a misnomer in itself, “LEED does not certify, endorse or promote any products, services or companies. LEED is a program that certifies only green buildings, spaces, neighborhoods, homes, cities, and communities.” straight from the horse’s mouth.

If any product claims to be LEED certified, they are falsely advertising.

FSC certified

We love a good FSC-certified product. This is a wonderful stamp of approval that means that your wood products are sustainably harvested, “FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits”. 

We automatically include in our product specifications that all wood products should be FSC-certified unless otherwise requested by our clients.

GOTS certified

This is a great consideration for textiles (upholstery, rugs, etc.), however, don’t forget to look at what those textiles are covering. Foam is an off-gassing, highly toxic material and yes, it off-gasses for a short period and is probably not harmful unless you unpackage mattresses for a living. But, we’re also talking about sustainability here, correct? How many off-gassing items are okay in a home? Why choose a product like foam when there are excellent alternatives like cruelty-free down, FSC-Certified latex, and wool for starters?

Product Declarations

Some materials and products don’t fit neatly into an environmental certification - in fact, many don’t. However, companies can still help us all make our best decisions by equipping us with information. That’s why we sometimes have to access product declarations which are essentially ingredients lists for particular products or materials. We certainly don’t want to expose our clients to compounds which react poorly with our physiology. Reviewing product declarations means we can help guard against introducing BPA, lead, HEX6 and other toxins to your home and we partner with companies that make that possible.

We automatically create all our designs using sustainable products and sustainable design solutions.

When we walk into VIPP looking for a pet to adopt, we know that we aren’t asking for a puppy-farm pet. We’re probably looking for a sweet mutt, not a purebred one, who will be a fantastic member of our family rather than a show pet. 

When our clients walk into our office, we share that we are a sustainable design firm. This means that we will automatically apply our sustainability principles to our process, sourcing products that we feel confident are operating responsibly in terms of environmental factors.

We occasionally have a client request petroleum products such as vinyl and store-bought foam upholstery, and this is a very awkward challenge because it’s a bit like walking into a PETA establishment and asking for a steak. We want our clients to have what they want and be happy with their designs, so our policy is that our clients are welcome to select their own finishes if this is the case, and we will simply designate that material as “client-selected”. It will not show up in our product specifications if it is not a sustainable product.

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